Get Woke! This Wake sculpture was commissioned as part of…read morethe Mel Chin: All Over the Place exhibition that led to this artwork being displayed in Times Square. It's supposed to be animatronic and move or something, but I didn't see it doing any moving. Maybe Wake was sleeping? It kinda looks like the person at the helm of a ship, with the parts of the helm behind them. When we came, during Pandemic, the Wake person was wearing a mask, which was most appreciated. This giant work of public art is nestled in a triangular lot right next to Burial Brewery on the South Slope of Asheville's brewing district. It fits right in with all the cool, unique weird stuff going on in this neighborhood!

This amazing sculpture was engineered and sculpted by a team of UNC Asheville students and staff…read moreand community artists. It was displayed in Times Square and has since been brought home and is on display in Asheville's South Slope. It's a beautiful piece designed to make a statement about climate change. It's 40 feet tall and the coolest part? It's animatronic! I highly recommend stopping by, visiting her and then hitting one (or three) of the brewers that are in the area. Have fun!!

Installed in 1983, Energy Loop by Dirck Cruser holds the distinction of being Asheville's first…read morepublic art piece. Originally slated for the sidewalk in front of the Jackson Building, the sculpture was relocated to Gantt Plaza due to structural concerns. It now stands across from the Buncombe County Courthouse, where its looping metal forms suggest motion, continuity, and transformation. It is an apt visual metaphor for a civic space that honors Harvey B. Gantt's legacy of progress and inclusion. Cruser's contribution came at a pivotal moment in Asheville's cultural development, when the city was beginning to embrace public art as a vital part of its urban identity. Though his name may not carry the same recognition as later figures like Hoss Haley or Mel Chin, Energy Loop helped establish the tone for Asheville's evolving commitment to creative placemaking. Its abstract design invites interpretation, while its permanence anchors it as a foundational piece in the city's public art collection. Gantt Plaza is named for Harvey B. Gantt, the first African American student admitted to Clemson University and a pioneering architect and mayor of Charlotte. The space serves as more than a pedestrian thoroughfare. It's a symbolic site for civic engagement and artistic expression. While the sculpture predates the plaza's naming, its presence reinforces the space's ethos: bold, inclusive, and forward-looking. [Review 1235 of 2025 - 4420 in North Carolina - 24787 overall]

Drove to Old Fort to get access to the Point Lookout trail on old highway 70. The town is mostly…read morehome to the Ethan Allen furniture factory... Really strong odor of varnish and adhesives near there. Honestly not much more to the town. There was a Hardee's and there were a couple other fast food places and gas stations. They do have some nice old brick buildings as you enter town coming from Asheville. The freight train tracks run right through the middle of town. It would probably be nice to visit on a Friday when the town hosts a weekly music festival that draws performers from the local area. It was a several mile long winding mountain road drive to get to the trail head. The trail is a nice hike or bike ride on paved road, about 3.5 mi long one-way.

Great Main Street. All quaint town outside of Asheville. Worth a visit. They are making it good…read more Cool place is Blue Mountain pizza, the bakery, Jack of Hearts. A lot of bluegrass/Americana music to be found here...and a few galleries.

Stayed in an Air BnB here while visiting Asheville. What a cute town! We felt very safe and the…read morepeople were so friendly! I would return any time and much preferred Weaverville over Asheville.

I don't really know how to rate Biltmore Forest Profile of…read morethe Town of Biltmore Forest Biltmore Forest is a planned residential community with a rich cultural history. The Town was planned by the best professional planners of their day. Mr. C.D. Beadle who had been associated with the firm of Frederick Law Olmsted of Boston, planned the protection, preservation, and perfection of the natural beauty of the area that is now known as Biltmore Forest. Mr. Frederick Law Olmsted, the Father of Landscape Architecture, planned his landscape to preserve the beauty of the natural environment and attempted to create a rural atmosphere although his designs were often located in cities. He was involved in the design of New York's Central Park, the U.S. Capitol grounds in Washington, and the grounds of the Biltmore Estate. Since Mr. Beadle had been associated with Mr. Olmsted, it is fair to say that the layout of Biltmore Forest and subsequent development is also a living example of more famous pioneering efforts in landscape architecture. Those ideas of 1920 are committed to paper in plans of the Town that existed in 1924 that have been followed and are still being followed today. The Town of Biltmore Forest was incorporated in 1923, and was determined eligible for Determination as a Historic District by the U.S. Department of Interior in March 1990. The idea of preserving and enhancing nature is at the core of the beauty of Biltmore Forest and helps guide the ordinance makers, administrators, developers, and residents of the Town. It is for this reason that ordinances guide the removal of trees, that structures and buildings are forbidden in front yards, and why fences have always been discouraged, to name a few of the rules that have made our Town unlike any elsewhere. This is what Wikipedia has to say but I m not sure if I agree. I live in south Asheville and take walks in Biltmore Forest a lot. There are huge villas/houses/estates it's utterly amazing everything is in a nice Forest setting around a beautiful golf course with an impressive club house. That being said the rules that are mentioned above seam to be old rules, fences might have been discouraged at one point but now they are for sure there, also the no structures in the front yard rule is not applied anymore! Fact is that there are only residential areas, maybe a playground or two but nothing else. Biltmore Forest Center has nothing to offer but a storage of the company that does the landscaping . All the things you need for daily life are across Hendersonville rd (RT 25) Ingles, postoffice and everything else. When you drive towards Asheville you come through Biltmore Village with lots of restaurants and a couple of nice stores.

The Roberta Flack mural on the side of Black Mountain Brewing. There is a parking lot right there…read moretoo, so that made viewing the mural easier.. This mural is part of the North Carolina Musician Mural Trail and was painted by the talented Scott Nurkin. This mural was the fourth in the series. The image for this mural was a 1969 photo taken by Jack Robinson. Flack got her start in gospel music but went on to embrace jazz, R&B, the blues, and pop. She graduated from high school at 15 years old and then attended Howard University before her debut album in 1969. She won four Grammy Awards. Besides being a great singer, she was a humanitarian as well and created the Roberta Flack School of Music for underprivileged students and the Roberta Flack Foundation for music education and protecting animals. If you are in Black Mountain, make sure to make a stop at the mural.

We visited Asheville for a family reunion and found the festival in the local events pages. We…read moreweren't sure what to expect but wanted to get a taste if mountain culture and art. So glad we went! There is a different line up each of the 3 nights, each including about 5 dance teams and 10+ musical groups. Our faces hurt from smiling so big at the quality of the instrumentation and vocal harmonies and the enthusiasm of the dancers. I would highly recommend this performance to anyone who enjoys folk music or who wants a taste of Smokey Mountain heritage.

Still a fun event. Super family friendly. No adult beverages but plenty of food and ice cream…read more Bring your chair. Great local bluegrass

Lovely concert series in Pack Square! Really enjoy this summer tradition - free music, dance and…read moreentertainment. Seating is plentiful, either bring your own chair or pop down on one of the many terraced seating areas on either level of the square. A really cool event that's family friendly and a great addition to a night out on the town. For a real treat - take a walk backstage where bands practice before and after their sets, it's like enjoying several concerts in a matter of minutes.